Statistics For Social Workers

A reader-friendly approach to statistics in social work practice. Statistics for Social Workers, 9/e familiarizes students with statistical tests and analyses that are most likely to be encountered by social work researchers and practitioners. This reader-friendly title emphasizes the conceptual underpinning of statistical analyses, keeping mathematics and complicated formulae to a minimum. Readers require no prior knowledge of statistics and only basic mathematical competence.

This revised edition was developed after teaching statistics to undergraduate and graduate social work students for over ten years. The statistical concepts that are necessary for students to know are covered, ranging from simple descriptive statistics such as crosstabs and tabular data up to a limited discussion of multiple regression.

Using real social work examples written specifically to ally student fears Research and Statistics for Social Workers brings research and statistics together bridging the gap to practice. This book covers - conceptualization, ethics, cultural competence, design, qualitative research, individual and program evaluation as well as nonparametric and parametric statistical tests. The tests are explained narratively, mathematically as well as with a comprehensive step-by-step, fully illustrated SPSS computer analysis of social work data.

This introductory text clearly presents information on the analysis and interpretation of data generated by social workers in practice. It covers the nature of data, measures of variability, crosstabulation analysis, correlational methods, hypothesis testing, and multiple regression. Pertinent social work examples are used throughout.

Conceptual and Practical Research and Statistics for Social Workers prepares students to intuitively theorize and utilize research and statistics within their social work practice. The book fosters the skills, savvy, and knowledge students need to interpret, apply, and produce studies within the discipline, enhancing their ability to become better consumers and producers of social work research. The book features two main sections, Research and Statistics, and its organization reflects the basic research process. The text begins with coverage of research questions and design and then introduces various data collection methods and instruments. Students then learn how to effectively analyze data and report and disseminate key findings. Throughout, readers build their understanding of methodological, ethical, and logical concepts in research and statistics, become familiar with basic needs assessment and program evaluation, develop the ability to choose appropriate statistics, and more. Employing everyday language, social work examples, metaphors, humor, and visual mapping, Conceptual and Practical Research and Statistics for Social Workers helps students tap into their critical thinking and problem-solving skills to develop key competencies. The text is an ideal resource for both undergraduate and graduate-level programs in social work.

Statistics for Social Work with SPSS provides readers with a user-friendly, evidence-based, and practical resource to help them make sense of, organize, analyze, and interpret data in contemporary contexts. It incorporates one of the most well-known statistics software applications, the Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS), within each chapter to help readers integrate their knowledge either manually or with the assistance of technology. The book begins with a brief introduction to statistics and research, followed by chapters that address variables, frequency distributions, measures of central tendency, and measures of variability. Additional chapters cover probability and hypothesis testing; normal distribution and Z score; correlation; simple linear regression; one-way ANOVA; and more. Each chapter features concise, simple explanations of key terms, formulas, and calculations; study questions and answers; specific SPSS instructions on computerized computations; and evidence-based, practical examples to support the learning experience. Presenting students with highly accessible and universally understandable statistical concepts, Statistics for Social Work with SPSS is an ideal textbook for undergraduate and graduate-level courses in social work statistics, as well as research-based courses within the social and behavioral sciences.